Hot Commute
We just got an advisory from VRE that the heat restrictions are in effect today, and probably will be for the rest of the week, too. Here's what VRE said:
CSX has implemented heat restrictions on their tracks today. This means that all trains will operate 20 mph lower than the normal maximum allowed speed. We expect delays on the Fredericksburg line to be about 10-15 minutes late at Fredericksburg unless heat inspections or other train traffic causes it to be otherwise. As these delays are cumulative, lesser delays should be seen at the intermediate stations. Slight delays may be experienced on the Manassas line as those trains operate on CSX tracks from just north of L'Enfant to just south of Alexandria. Because the temperatures are forecasted to be well above 90 degrees all week, we expect that heat restrictions will be imposed all week.
This morning was a bummer if you were driving on the outer loop in Prince George's and eastern Montgomery. Accidents led drivers to bail out on the Beltway and head for alternate east-west routes, like University Boulevard and Randolph Road. Somehow, those tieups always seem worse on a hot day.
Metro had some escalators out and some trains were slightly delayed because of electrical problems but none of that was heat related. But be careful on those escalators in this weather. Even a normal length escalator can be a long hot climb on a day like this. Underground stations are bound to be hotter, even if the air coolers are working.
How was your commuting experience today? Did you have any problems with your trip that you'd blame on the heat? Any advice for fellow travelers on how to get through this week's heat wave?
-- Robert Thomson
By |
July 17, 2006; 1:34 PM ET
Commuting
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Posted by: Sweat | July 17, 2006 2:19 PM
Sweat, Metro transit reporter Lena H. Sun has this for you about the escalators and elevators:
At any given MOMENT, between 40 to 45 of Metro's 588 escalators are out of service. About 27 are typically taken out of service for scheduled maintenance or inspection. The rest would be because of breakdowns. Metro officials say if there is only one unit working, yes, it should be working in the UP direction.
As of early this afternoon, 43 escalators were not in service, but only 18 of those outages were scheduled.
Metro's director of escalators and elevators, Dave Lacosse, urges riders NOT to climb an escalator if they have health problems. Take the elevator, and if the elevator is not working, ride to the next station and let the station manager know. They are supposed to provide a bus bridge back to the original station.
Posted by: Robert Thomson | July 17, 2006 3:26 PM
The Foggy Bottom Metro station is right in front of a hospital and two blocks away from an affiliated medical center (the building used by GW MFA). I know that some patients use the station; I myself used to accompany my late sister on the Metro when she went to chemotherapy appointments at the GW MFA medical center. Needless to say, for her sake, I always hoped that the escalators were working correctly. I don't know if Metro pays more attention to these things for stations near major medical facilities; I hope that they do.
Posted by: Foggy Bottom | July 17, 2006 3:36 PM
What I don't understand about METRO is why they don't adopt a policy like San Fanscisco's BART. On "Spare the air days", public transit is free to encourage people to cars off the road to keep smog down. Oh wait..this would make sense...no wonder METRO doesn't do it!
Posted by: NoSmog | July 17, 2006 3:49 PM
See
http://www.commuterpage.com/ozone/ozonebus.htm
for information on free rides on buses in Virginia and Maryland (BUT not DC) on "Code Red" days. This applies not just to Metrobus but also the Fairfax Connector, etc. See link for lists.
Today is a Code Orange day, as it happens.
Posted by: Free Ride on "Code Red" days | July 17, 2006 3:55 PM
COG is predicting Code Red air quality tomorrow, so the free bus ride program will be in effect on the systems that honor it.
Posted by: WW | July 17, 2006 4:08 PM
I get on the metro every morning at Ballston Station. For the past week or so, the heat has been unbearable on the platform level. Some of the stations seem to have large fans to help this, but there are no cooling devices that I can see at Ballston. Why is this not standard practice for all stations? It would go a long way toward making the commute more bearable.
Posted by: LP | July 17, 2006 6:19 PM
Metrorail and DC Metrobuses for the Code Red/Purple days aren't free because the governments haven't agreed to pick up the cost. When the suburban Metrobuses are "free" there is a chargeback to the local government. I think the lost fares of the rail + DC bus would be something like $2 million a day.
Posted by: WW | July 18, 2006 9:56 AM
I think there's more to this than just the cost to government. I mean, yeah, that's a big part of it I'm sure. But has anybody considered what would happen to metro if suddenly rides were free?
it's already a sardine can during rush hour. Just imagine trying to add all those extra riders- especially in heat like this.
Posted by: Jared | July 18, 2006 11:48 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
What the heck is Metro's policy on escalators? It seems if only one is working, it should be working UP. And yet, even on non-heat advisory days, places like Foggy Bottom are always messed up.